For Josh Philip, Head of Product at RepVue, the mission is simple but ambitious: give sales pros real, unbiased intel on new roles and companies—think a more specialized Glassdoor, tailor-made for revenue teams. Yet, like most startup leaders, Josh’s day is a swirl of strategy meetings, Slack DMs, and last-minute “Can you do this by EOD?” requests.
That’s where Hoop enters the picture, helping Josh juggle everything from big-picture decisions—like how to navigate the AI-driven future of SEO—to the daily minutiae of user acceptance testing. Below, Josh shares how he structures his time, leverages AI in his product workflows, and keeps the chaos from overrunning his day.
From strategy to UAT: A product leader’s reality
At RepVue, Josh leads a small but mighty product team—just a handful of engineers, a designer, and himself. “I handle strategy, discovery, delivery, basically everything across our three platforms,” he explains. That might mean:
- Morning: Deep strategic thinking on how AI search changes user acquisition.
- Midday: Hands-on user acceptance testing (UAT) in the code.
- Afternoon: Manual QA or writing detailed product requirements.
“In a startup, you do everything,” he says. “One minute I’m charting out next quarter’s vision. The next, I’m writing test cases.”
The secret weapon: Hoop
Before adopting Hoop, Josh kept tasks scattered in Notion and mental checklists. But in a role spanning multiple departments—marketing, engineering, sales ops, you name it—he needed a more robust solution.
“Hoop is the best visibility boost. It tracks everything—Slack threads, meeting notes, the stray email—and merges it all into one feed.”
How Josh works with Hoop
- Morning roundup: He opens Hoop, sees tasks auto-captured from Slack, email, and meeting transcripts in his “Incoming” list.
- Drag & drop: He skims each to-do, then drags key tasks into a “current focus” or “finishing today” group.
- Time blocking: With the day’s must-dos in one place, he time-blocks a few hours for deep work on the biggest priorities.
- Cross-functional trust: “Teams rely on me for product direction. Hoop ensures I never miss a crucial Slack mention or user feedback.”
AI workflows: from PRDs to 100 test users in a snap
It’s not just about capturing tasks. Josh has been experimenting with AI across his entire product process—making Hoop’s auto-collected context even more valuable.
PRD Generation with Claude
- Context gathering: Josh pulls the latest transcripts, Slack messages, and user feedback from Hoop.
- Prompt crafting: He pastes these details into Claude (an AI model) with a prompt like, “Help me write a PRD with these five sections.”
- Refinement: He iterates on the AI’s output, layering in more detail or clarifications pulled straight from Hoop’s transcripts.
- Weekly Updates: Instead of manually drafting status reports, Josh feeds AI with data snapshots (like analytics screenshots or updated metrics). The AI creates a first draft, saving him hours.
- Creating 100 Test Users: For major QA sessions, he asks ChatGPT with an operator plugin to spin up dozens of new accounts in staging—no manual data entry required.
“That’s where product folks can shine,” says Josh. “Freeing ourselves from grunt work so we can focus on user experience, strategy, and craft.”
When AI is great—and when it isn’t
Not everything can be auto-prompted, though. Josh warns:
“Where taste and craft matter—where details can’t be missed—I don’t just let AI run free.”
For example, final sign-off on UAT still needs human eyes. “There’s a real risk if you rely on AI to understand product nuance. Some tasks require your personal standards for quality.”
The 15-minute daily routine that changes everything
Josh’s day starts with a 15-minute check-in.
- He reviews what Hoop captured since yesterday (tasks, meeting notes, Slack requests).
- He picks 1 big item that needs deep focus—about 2–3 hours.
- He pins smaller tasks in Hoop’s “today” list, like testing a new feature or writing final specs.
“That 15-minute exercise is everything,” he says. “If I skip it, the day runs me, instead of me running the day.”
Advice for fellow builders
- Admit you’re human: “Nobody can remember every Slack message. Hoop’s daily feed is my safety net.”
- Taste & craft over full automation: Use AI for repetitive tasks, but double-check crucial details that shape user experience.
- Allow time to tinker: “I give myself permission to play with new AI tools each week—like letting Claude finish generating code to see what it does.”
- Change tools regularly: “Try a new AI model or method every so often. Don’t stick to one approach in a fast-evolving space.”
“Sometimes AI gets it 30% right and 70% wrong,” Josh jokes. “But that 30% alone can save me hours—if I tweak prompts and keep iterating.”
Why Hoop for startups?
Short answer: If you’re drowning in Slack threads or toggling 20 Google Docs, Hoop auto-captures it all.
“If you’re back-to-back in meetings or wearing multiple hats, you’ll appreciate an AI buddy to track tasks in real time,” Josh says.
After adopting Hoop, he’s more confident he’s not dropping balls. And he can push deeper on the bigger product strategy questions without letting day-to-day requests slip.
Key takeaways
- Focus on Strategy…But Don’t Neglect the Details: Hoop helps you keep track while you’re juggling big-picture thinking.
- Leverage AI for Repeatable Workflows: PRD creation, weekly updates, QA tasks—it’s all fair game for generative AI.
- Taste & Craft Still Matter: Reserve final sign-off for your own judgment—especially for user-facing details.
- Play the Long Game: The AI landscape changes weekly. Stay curious, adopt new approaches, and let your daily tasks feed fresh insights to your AI prompts.
- Hoop Simplifies the Overwhelm: With tasks auto-captured from Slack, email, and transcripts, you get one daily to-do list that never misses a beat.
Ready to ditch frantic note-taking and endless Slack checks?
Try Hoop to see how one feed of tasks can save you hours, reduce stress, and let you focus on building great products. Because if Josh can free up time to dive into real product strategy, so can you.
Huge thanks to Josh for sharing his workflows, from PRD generation to 100 test-user creations. AI’s here—and with Hoop, it’s fueling a new level of productivity for founders, PMs, and anyone juggling endless Slack pings in a day. Don’t let the day run you; run the day.